The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-11-05
THE WASHINGTON WIRE.
General Benet Tells Again the Story
of DefenceIess Coasts.

THE WASHINGTON WIRE.
General Benet Tells Again the Stor,
of DefenceIess Coasts.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 4.-Gen. S. " Benet
chief of ordnance, has finished his annua
report. Under the head of rifle forgings tn,
report says that the domestic manufacturer;
have at last triumphed over their limitations
and have obtained success in spite of the in
adequate facilities In the,case of the ten.
inch steel rifle they have fully complied will
the terms of the contract, Notwithstanding
the very high standard of excellence re-
quired. Experience has proved the entire
ability of our steel makers Ito produce the
required metal without too great difficulty
The ordeal of firing has demonstrated the
trustworthy character of the guns made
from it. and withgenerous competition, it Is
expected that both the difficulties and the
cost of production will lDe considerably re.
duced in the future. On this subject Gen
Benet says:
ut is believed to be the vital interest Of
the whole country that such liberal appro-
priations be made by Congress froIs year to
year, until our present utter destitution as to
modem guns be relieved, as shall furnish
the substantial encouragement and aid that
our steel industry demands. AS a step in
this direction, Ihave asked in my annual es-
the procurement of forgings for eight inch
and ten-inch B. l.. steel suns. This sum
should procure the steel for about fifty eight
inch guns and about forty ten-inch guns, and
to allow the necessary time to erect ad-
ditional plant this appropriation should be
made available until expended"
The dynamite torpedo gun, the report says,
has been fairly perfected, and it Is recon-
mended that a a 12-inch gun be purchased
for exhaustive trials to determine its full
capacity and fitness for coast defence. Fav-
orable mention is also made of the Stevens
dynamite she'll.
1t is said that. with the exception of twen-
ty-five 30. .10-inch b. l.. field guns just issued
to the service, there is in store only the old
muzzle-loading guns of limited power, rep
resenting, system twenty-five years old and
now obsolete, while there are no serviceable
carriages An estimate of S225, 200 is accord
ingly submitted for the purchase of sixty
completely equipped steel guns. The ballis-
tic tests of the S-inch gun, it is said, lshow a
higher effective energy than any gun of like
calibre eXtant.
The New Cruisers.
The first important act of Acting Secretary
Harmony was his approval yesterday of the
contracts for building the three great
cruisers, known as the Newark and Nos 4
and 5. Until the last are finished they will
not be named. The Newark was among the
first three authorized by Congress. The
Charleston and the Baltimore are respective
ly cruisers Nos. and g.
Owing to change in the design for the
Newark, the original appropriation was not
enough, and Congress having increased the
amount proposals were renewed and opened
ON the Sth of August last at the same time
those for nineteen knot cruisers and addi-
tional gunb0atS were renewed The peculiar
provisions of the act of Congress requiring a
guaranteed speed of nineteen knots from
cruisers Nos. and were such as to demand
the exercise of unusual care in framing the
contracts and arranging the details of con-
struction.
The contractors themselves were in NO
hurry to have the contracts executed in view
of the fact that the orders for some of the
more difficult materials, such as shafts, would
require considerable time to develop facili-
ties for their manufacture in this country,
the act of Congress expressly prohibiting or
dering OF any part of the material from
abroad, as had been done for the ships now
building. Hence the lapse of nearly three
months between the awards and the final
signature of the contracts.
Messrs. Cramp 81 Sons, of PHILADELPHIA
will build cruisers 1 and 4.
No. l, the Newark, will be built on the De-
partments design of hull with machinery
designed by Cramp q Sons.
No. a viii be built ON Messrs. Cramp 6
Sons designs of both hull and Machinery
and will be the second steam man-of-waI
built for the navy wholly on private designs.
Cruiser No. will he built by the Union
Iron Works of San Francisco (Mr. Irving M
Scott, manager,) on the Navy Department:
designs of both hull and machinery.
Hopkins's Sensation.
The story published in Washington an(
elsewhere this morning about an attemp
upon the life of Chief Justice Waite, BY
sending him boy with explosives, by post
office special delivery, turns out to be an at
tempt OF a worthless newspaper hanger-OI
to make cheap sensation to sell to cOnfd
ing newspaper publishers.
The machine waa an ordinary paSteboar(
box with glass tube filed with sawdus
saturated with ink, and the end filled will
shoe backing. Copper wire had been run
through it all to give it realistic look snd
PERCUSSION cap attached. Its true nature
was readily seen by the police and by Justc,
Waite. Yet the local papers today publish
columns Of it with startling head lines.
The police have taken the ambitious you'll
in charge and propose to make ON exampl,
of him. The act is a grave one at. least il
its suggestiveneSs.
). G Hopkins was an originator of th'
scheme and he is native of Maine, hi
father having lived near Augusta.
Edmunds and the Telegraph.
In the last Congress Senator Edmunds re
marked with great force that at the prope
time he would introduce measure for tn
establishment of system of government
telegraph lines. His speech was very short
but very pointed, and was significantly EN-
phasized by the statement THAT the Senate
would oppose with all his power the pur
chase of the watered stock of existing cor
porations at an inflated valuation. The alb
sorption of the Baltimore & Ohio system b,
the Western Union indicates that, Mr.. Ed
munds will push some such measure as h
has suggested in the next Congress, and /
the views of the members already here ar
any indication of the temper Of the majorit,
| of the House and Senate. the lbill will pas
without the slightest difficulty. o
Maine Pensioners.
The following Maine pensions have beel
granted:
Frnncis A. Gilbreth, Waldo.
John A Lord, Bath.
Henry 3. Jewett, Saccarappa.
INCREASE.
| Ensign F. Hubbard. Canaan.
Charles nj. Smith, Red Beach.
William w. Chase Sebec.
Benjamin III. CuShman. PenObScOt.
Ezra McGlawfiin, South Presque Isle
REISSUE.
George d. Huntoon, Range.ey
Talking About the Cabinet.
NEW YORK, Nov IA Washington spec
ial to the Sun today. says that Presiden
Cleveland's cabinet will be recast soon afte
| the heads of departments have completed
their annual reports some time this month
Secretary Lamar will go to the supreme
bench and Postmaster General Villas will b
made Secretary of the Interior. Don M
| Dickinson of Michigan. will be the mex
| Postmaster General unless he declines
There IS no revival Of the talk of the retire
ment of Garland and Endicott and botl
these gentlemen are likely to stay.
HOW 1T HAPPENED.
Charges Of Drunkenness Agains
the Captain of the Vernon.
CHICAGO, Nov. 4.-There seems to be n
L .a.4A Al...A A.:..